woke up also waked up; woken up also waked up; waking up; wakes up
: awake entry 1, wake entry 1: such as
a
: to cease sleeping : to become awake
I woke up late this morning.
When I woke up on Monday the sky was the color of mercury, and the air was heavy with moisture.—
Ann M. Martin
Ann M. Martin
b
: to rouse (a person or animal) from or as if from sleep
The sound of a door slamming woke him up.
c
: to become aware or to make (someone) aware of something (such as an existing problem or danger)
They finally woke up and realized what was happening.
—usually used with toa study that woke people up to the importance of regular exercise
In 1997, … Jacob Nielsen predicted that if newspapers didn't wake up to the threat of online classified advertising and dominate the field by 1998, many of them would die within a decade.—Emily Benedek
Emily BenedekExamples of wake-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2025
Simply, follow the same guidelines in reverse by pushing the wake-up time and bedtime a little later rather than earlier in anticipation of the time change.
—Dina Roth Port, Parents, 7 Mar. 2025
Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 19 Mar. 2025
Instead, Louisianans will wake up tomorrow knowing what our state has done and reading about a killing that inflicted psychological pain, suffering, and terror.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wake-up
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Adjective
But this team has responded well this season when dealt a wake-up call.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2025
Simply, follow the same guidelines in reverse by pushing the wake-up time and bedtime a little later rather than earlier in anticipation of the time change.
—Dina Roth Port, Parents, 7 Mar. 2025
Verb
For some, that stress can lead to insomnia, an inability to fall or stay asleep or waking up much earlier than desired.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 19 Mar. 2025
Instead, Louisianans will wake up tomorrow knowing what our state has done and reading about a killing that inflicted psychological pain, suffering, and terror.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wake-up
Cite this Entry
“Wake-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wake-up. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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